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The Rulers’ Indifference Towards CAG reflects Policy Paralysis
- Published on 30 December 2017
(Image Courtesy: taxindiaonline.com)
Policy Paralysis (PP) was one of the catch phrases that enabled BJP-led NDA to defeat Congress-led UPA in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Has PP ended?
The answer is both Yes and No. Yes because there has been modest increase in policy decisions taken by NDA. Couple this with terrific marketing of repackaged schemes and policies. NDA’s performance is thus slightly better than UPA’s.
And no because Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports, presented during the winter session and earlier, show that bad governance continues to rock as it did under the UPA. Certain indicators, in fact, imply that misgovernance has risen under the Modi Government.
Anyone can arrive at this conclusion by comparing the observations, conclusions and recommendations made by CAG every year in its reports on different ministries. Three years is adequate period to judge ruling alliance’s passion or aversion for policy paralysis.
If continuation of same errors, same indifference, same revenue leakages, same fiscal opacity and same deficiencies under NDA is not policy paralysis, then what it is?
Mr. PM, Assess your Gujarat Campaign on four Touchstones
- Published on 14 December 2017
(PM & Gujarat CM at Dwarkadhish Temple Image Courtesy: PIB)
Enact Code for Political Discourse & Drama
The muck-raking electioneering for Gujarat State Assembly has turned Indian democracy and governance on its head. The conduct of campaigners must be judged from all angles to frame a statutory code for political discourse and display.
The focus, of course, has to be on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He should be judged through the prism of Kautilya’s governance treatise Arthashastra, Indian Constitution, Parliament’s unanimous 1997 Agenda for India (AFI) and Election Commission’s Mode Code of Conduct for Elections (MCCE) .
In Chapter Xth titled ‘Ascertaining by Temptations Purity or Impurity in the Character of Ministers’, Kautilya specified four purity tests. These are: religious allurement; monetary allurement; love allurement and allurement under fear.
Kautilya, also revered as Chanakya, stated: “those whose character has been tested under all kinds of allurements shall be employed as prime ministers (mantrinah)” by the King.
Watching Gujarat poll campaigns from Heaven, Kautilya would perhaps broaden his four purity tests in the age of democracy. He would thus find Modi failing on touchstone of religious allurement and allurement under fear. PM played these two impurities to the hilt to woo voters.
Can Triple Cobweb of Info Exchange Net Tax Evaders?
- Published on 07 December 2017
(Edited Image Courtesy: WB & IMF)
It is time to take a stock of ground covered by the world in tax transparency within the domain of tax administrations.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)-hosted Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Forum) released on 17th November its first report on the status of implementation of automatic exchange of information (AEOI) standard.
“With exchanges under the AEOI Standard having now commenced amongst almost 50 jurisdictions there has been a major shift in international tax transparency and the ability of jurisdictions to tackle offshore tax evasion”, says the report.
The 147-countries/jurisdiction Forum held its 10th plenary meeting over three days ending 17th November at Cameroon.
The Forum also released Plan of Action for Developing Countries Participation in AEOI (PADCP-AEOI), apart from six peer review reports. These reports take stock of implementation of Exchange of Information on request (EOIR) standard in India, Italy, Isle of Man, Denmark, Jersey and Curacao.
PADCP-AEOI claims: “The impact of AEOI has been felt in the jurisdictions which are committed to implement the AEOI Standard by 2018 even before any exchanges have occurred. As reported by the OECD to the G20, in response to disclosure initiatives and similar measures put in place prior to the start of exchanges approximately 500,000 individuals have already disclosed offshore assets worldwide, and some EUR 85 billion in additional tax revenue has been collected. The evidence is also emerging from several jurisdictions that the number of foreign financial accounts and the income from these account reported to tax authorities have increased significantly.”
Introspect over Irrational Exuberance over Moody’s Mood Swing
- Published on 24 November 2017
(Image Courtesy: BJP)
Moody’s upgrade of India’s sovereign ratings is serving as a super-booster dose for National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Moody’s Investors Service (MIS) upgrade release has prompted Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to ridicule and admonish critics of Modi Government’s economic governance. He stated: “Many who had doubts in their minds about India's (economic) reform process would need to now seriously introspect on their thinking”.
Modi Government and BJP also ought to introspect over this juvenile flaunt of dubious certificate. They should know there are also other such certificates that might freeze them in their zero-gravity track, if not leave them red-faced.
A case in point is civil unrest that can drag economic growth and put off potential investors. The UK-based global risks observer, Verisk Maplecroft, ranked India 4th after Syria, Yemen and Libya on its civil unrest index released during August 2016.
According to Maplecroft, “it is striking that Brazil, France, India, Mexico and South Africa, which have all witnessed substantial disorder in the last year, lack adequate structures to avoid grievances escalating into wholesale protests”.
Recall how angrily the Government had officially dismissed a report from Moody Analytics (MA) during November 2015 that cautioned the Government against hurting minorities in India. MA and MIS are two arms of Moody’s Corporation.